Regularly I witness presentations that contain a lot of noise, be it visual or verbal. Unfortunately any type of noise in a presentation can distract the receiver and take them further away from the key outcome you are trying to achieve.
To help you reduce ‘noise’ in your next presentation, we reached in to our presentation library and wanted to share this valuable lesson Nancy Duarte’s has written about in her book, Resonate.
There are four different forms of noise that can happen in a presentation, so let’s take a quick look at each one and we’ll provide tips on how to reduce or remove the noise altogether.
Bias Noise
What is it? Bias can come from the speakers point of view as well as the receivers judgement and ability to fiter the material.
How to escape it? Know your audience – this will help you overcome pre-conceived biases. Ensure the material you are presenting is hitting the audience needs and not just focused on self-centred material.
Credibility Noise
What is it? A speaker’s likeability or believability can interfere with the presentation.
How to avoid it? Create a connection with your audience measuring the emotional and analytical appeal depending on your subject and the audience. Highly analytical audiences will not appreciate the warm fuzzy emotional stories. Conversely, emotionally driven audiences won’t enjoy drilling down in to detail.
Semantic Noise
What is it? Comes from interpreting verbal and visual cues.
How to avoid it? Avoid using jargon and acronyms. Simplify the visual cues you create to support your message. Only use movement or animations if it helps explain your message.
Experiential Noise
What is it? Comes from interpreting verbal and visual cues.
How to avoid it? Work on your body language, removing distracting or repetitive gestures. Practice in front of your peers (or a mirror). Rehearse inside the venue so you can test acoustics, space and fix any problems prior to the presentation.
For more great presentation tips and tricks download our free eBook here.
Reference: Resonate: A free copy of the book can be accessed here.